Once in a Blue Moon
by L1v
Summary: [ONE SHOT FIC] A deja vu happens in Paradies. (After episode 30)


Once in a Blue Moon  
  
By: Liv  
  
Disclaimer: 'Wolf's Rain' is a BONES anime. Enjoy the fic. :)  
  
1:57 AM...  
  
The nightlife had just died, so the city was almost empty. A man with a light gray hair and a thin ponytail sat by the edge of his motorbike. He was in the port, where the blue moon was best seen.  
  
He wondered why...how the blue moon had always enthralled him. His mother never told him stories about it, neither did his father since he had died before he was even born. He had no relatives who talked to him about it. At such an early age, he started the life of a gangster.  
  
"Let me go!"  
  
His ears perked and head turned, yellow eyes percieving a young boy with a rose red beret-like cap on his long brown hair--making him look like a girl. There was a stranger behind him who held him firmly by the wrists. His numerous tries to jerk off were in vain.  
  
A white cat from his open bag had purred and hopped off, pawing itself towards the man who was watching.  
  
"T, Toboe!" The boy called and saw where the cat headed.  
  
The gray-haired gangster gave a look of annoyance at the cat who hid under his motorcycle.  
  
The stranger, on the other hand, turned to look as well and had gasped, immediately letting go of the boy's wrists and backing off. "Y, you are...!!" His fear grew when the tall man had looked at him. "G, Gray Wolf?!"  
  
"'Gray Wolf'?" The brown-haired boy turned to see the man wearing a black outfit while he rubbed his wrist. "Who?"  
  
"This is my territory, what are you doing here?" The 'Gray Wolf' started with a deep voice.  
  
"Ahh...th, that is..."  
  
"Get out of here!" The man had stomped forward, causing the stranger to cry in fear and stumble to his back. Oblivious of the pain, he quickly stood up and rushed away.  
  
A purr was heard from under him. He looked to see the cat approaching its owner, its fur sliding through his black pants. The famous gangster sneezed.  
  
"Toboe!" The boy laughed and knelt to take his cat. "You're okay!"  
  
"'Toboe'?"  
  
"Eh?" The boy looked up to see the man wear his pair of shades. He gulped.  
  
"Cats don't howl."  
  
"I, I know..." The boy stood as the cat re-entered his mailman bag. "I...I just thought it was cute." A pause... "...Uhh...this is your territory, right?"  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"Egh...!" The boy gulped at the immediate question. "Uhh...I...was on my way home but...I was watching the moon while I was walking so...I didn't see where I was going..." Somehow, he felt he should have made up a story rather than tell the truth. What does a famous gangster know about moon gazing?  
  
The gangster gave a small smirk. "You too...?"  
  
"Eh?" The boy blinked.  
  
He gestured an invitation with his head and swung his left leg over to the other side of his motorbike. "C'mon, I'll take you home." He took his pair of shades off and kept them.  
  
"R, really...?!" The boy gulped but was relieved. He rushed towards the man and rode behind him. Unfortunately, he didn't know where to hold...  
  
"Keep your cat away from me." The man took his helmet from the handle and wore it. He turned to the boy. "Aren't you going to put your hands on my shoulder?"  
  
"Ah, ahh!" Once more, the boy gulped before he had done what the gangster had told him to. The immediate speed had almost caused him to jump off his position but luckily he was able to hold on.  
  
*****  
  
The part of the city had nothing but silence and himself. Buildings were dim both inside and outside. Only a single or three lamp posts were lit. The road was wide and open. The dark-haired man continued to walk, his skin basking under the moonlight while his hands were inserted into his jacket pockets. He didn't know what had made him neglect his pending works and walk around the city.  
  
But the moon was at its finest tonight...  
  
He continued to walk as he looked up the pale blue orb in the sky. The light of it was reflected on his strangely beautiful eyes.  
  
He felt someone behind him.  
  
"Who--?" The man turned around and felt a hand surge into his pants pocket, himself being pushed down. He gave an 'Oof!' as he dropped on the sidewalk and snarled. But he disregarded everything at that moment and immediately stood up to chase the thief. "Stop!!"  
  
"Stop!!!"  
  
"Hm?" Hearing the louder call was a man with a short orange hair. He had a bag of groceries with him which he carried with a single arm around his chest level. Looking forward, he noticed a man chasing what looks like a hoodlum of some sort. "What the heck?" He heard his PHS ring and took it from his over-top pocket. "Blue?? Still awake at this hour?" He answered the call of the woman who bore the nickname and lifted the phone to his ears. "Blue, what is it? Ack!!" He felt a shoulder hit his. He dropped his PHS and felt his grocery bag squished against him. Fruits and sausages had dropped and hung from the paper bag, respectively. "D, damn it!" He turned to the runner and waved his fist. "Hey! Watch where you're going, you!!"  
  
"Stop him!!"  
  
"What?!" He turned around just in time to miss the latter runner.  
  
A loud crunch came.  
  
He turned to look at his PHS on the ground and gasped. His jaw dropped as he saw the screen dead and cracked. "My PHS!!" He turned to the dark-haired man. "Hey!!"  
  
The man had ignored the call. He was closing in to the thief. At the perfect time and momentum, he grunted as he leapt and threw the thief's body down with his weight. He hurriedly pushed himself up, his knees keeping the man pinned on the ground as he lifted a shoulder up, grabbing it. A surge of pain had sharply attacked his abdomen. "Gah!!" He lost hold of the shoulder and held his bloody wound, a knife present. He felt the body under him move and punch him off to the right, sending him to the ground on his front. A set of footsteps were heard--the stabber was running away.  
  
"A murder scene!!" The orange-haired man gasped and dropped his bag of groceries without hesitation, rushing towards the wounded man. "H, hey! Are you okay?!" He knelt beside him and helped him to a more comfortable position.  
  
"Egh...I..." The man grunted as he tried to stand.  
  
"Hey! Don't force yourself, you're wounded!!" He heard an engine roar from his previous position and turned to see a boy getting off a motorcycle.  
  
"Don't get lost now, no one might save you next time." The gangster turned to see the boy nod and bow in gratitude.  
  
"Thank you very much, Mr. Gray Wolf!"  
  
He groaned. "If you're going to call me 'Gray Wolf', at least omit the 'Mr.' part."  
  
"Uh...y, yes, sir..."  
  
"HEY!!!"  
  
Both turned to an orange-haired man waving to them with both of his arms while he stood in front of a dark-haired man.  
  
"Someone's wounded! He needs help!"  
  
"Wounded?" The boy jogged towards the men in panic. "What happened? AHH! He was stabbed?! What happened?!" He had knelt beside the wounded man.  
  
As for the gangster, he twisted the right handle, causing the motorbike to make a roaring sound.  
  
"Hey!!"  
  
The gangster turned to the chubby man.  
  
"Aren't you going to help him?!"  
  
He would have said it wasn't his business but what he had let out instead was a groan. He turned the engines off and removed his helmet, mounting away from his vehicle as he calmly approached the three. "He won't even last on a motorbike with his condition."  
  
"Sh, shouldn't we pull this knife off...?" The boy gulped as he slowly reached for the knife on the panting man's body.  
  
"What are you, nuts??" The orange-haired man stopped him in panic. "We don't even know how to handle this situation!"  
  
"Wait."  
  
All three of them turned to the gray-haired man.  
  
He knelt and took a look at the knife's black handle. There was a silver lion carved near the butt of it. Slowly, he pulled it off, causing the wounded to grunt and the orange-haired man to shout in panic. "...I see. I wonder what they're up to again...?"  
  
"Y, you know them??" The boy asked the gangster.  
  
"Please..."  
  
The tall man turned to the dark-haired man who was panting, his hand bloody while it covered his wound.  
  
"Take my wallet back...it has something very precious to me..."  
  
The tall man dropped the knife and turned away, hands pocketed as he approached his motorbike.  
  
The wounded man heard the chubby one call out but he was relieved. He knew what the man was going for.  
  
"Uhh...in any case, shouldn't we do our best to mend his wound??" The boy had successfully caught the chubby man's attention.  
  
"...You're right. Where's the nearest hospital or clinic?"  
  
"It's far. It's somewhere around the industrial area." The wounded man grunted. "I can help myself...I just need the materials..."  
  
"There's a nearby pharmacy a few blocks from here." The boy told the chubby man. "I'll stay here with him and wait for you until you come back."  
  
The man nodded and left with a run.  
  
"C, can you move...??" The boy carefullly stood up while assisting the man who nodded. Slowly, he moved towards a lamp post to the left where he settled the man on a sitting position, making him lean against the steel pole. "L, let's just wait for him, okay?"  
  
*****  
  
It wasn't after a few minutes that the orange-haired man had come back with a roll of gauze and a bottle of anti-biotic.  
  
"Feeling any better?" The chubby man asked and recieved a nod from the victim. "That's good. Now about my PHS that you broke..."  
  
"...I'm sorry about that."  
  
The chubby man was silenced. "...dahh! I just hope she wouldn't worry about me...!" He held his head with his hands.  
  
"You're girlfriend?"  
  
"Obviously." The chubby man replied to the boy, a bit sarcastically. "I just don't get why she's up at this kind of hour. Is there a phone booth around here?"  
  
"Mmm..." The boy looked around. "Uhh...I can't see any. I'm not really familiar with this area of the city, though."  
  
"Geez..." He heard a roar of a motorcycle again and looked behind him to see the gangster with a man wearing a sack around his head. "Hey, you're back."  
  
"Gray Wolf!" The boy called happily.  
  
"Did you get it?" The wounded man struggled to stand up and recieved the assistance of the chubby man beside him. "My wallet...?"  
  
The gangster removed his helmet before he mounted off his motorbike and dragged his captive off the vehicle. "I found his little shack but he seems to enjoy a small game of treasure hunting." He pushed the thief forward and watched it stumble for his balance. "Now, c'mon! Take us to the treasure."  
  
"I--"  
  
"Didn't I say you're not allowed to talk?!"  
  
The thief gulped.  
  
"Hey." The chubby man called. "How's he supposed to see where he's going if he's got a sack on his head?"  
  
The gangster shrugged. He grabbed the sack and pulled it off roughly, bringing along a few strands of hair and causing the man to shout. He threw the sack away and kicked the thief on its behind, commanding it to move forward. He dragged his motorbike along while he followed.  
  
The boy saw the wounded man walk away from the chubby man's assistance and limp behind them. The latter had shrugged and jogged to the man's assistance. Left with no choice, he decided to follow.  
  
*****  
  
Another box was kicked open and broken. The trash area had just become messier with all the boxes and plastic bags being opened. It was starting to reek of stink, as well.  
  
The boy gulped and felt his cat hide deeper into his bag at the noise. "So this is a gangster's 'treasure hunt'?"  
  
"Nahh, he's just plain scaring him." The chubby man saw the tall one approach the frightened other gangster and threaten his neck once more with well-shaped blade.  
  
"...that was actually the same man who attacked me." The boy felt all eyes on him. "While I was watching the moon, he tried to steal my bag. Luckily, I was in Gray Wolf's territory and was saved."  
  
"'Gray Wolf'?" The chubby man shrugged. "...so you were moon gazing, too?" He smirked. "Look what kinda stuff the moon makes you do...I even bought groceries at this time of the hour. Thank goodness for 24 hour stores."  
  
"I thought you said it was in that box?" Gray Wolf pushed the knife closer against the neck. "Now are you going to tell me the exact location or would you rather a game of hangman?"  
  
The man had shouted. "I swear it's around that area! I...I just forgot! I promise!!"  
  
"Forgot?"  
  
The knife was pressed deeper, one more move and his neck could be slit.  
  
"...I see. Let's end this game now, shall we?"  
  
The suspect cried. "It's in the box to my right!! I swear, I promise! I remember it, already!!"  
  
The man had raised an eyebrow. He turned to the right side of the man. "...which?"  
  
"The...the...the...the 3rd to the wall!!"  
  
"For sure?"  
  
"Yes!!"  
  
"Do you bet your life on it?"  
  
The boy who was watching gulped along with the suspect.  
  
"Do you?!"  
  
"YES!"  
  
The man nodded. "Good." The tall man walked away, once more, approaching the said box. He kept the knife in its sheath and grabbed the box. Easily, he lifted it and smashed it on the ground.  
  
The dark-haired man's eyes widened. "It's there! I see it!"  
  
The gangster raised his eyebrow. He saw the man limp quickly towards the debris along with strips of papers and many wallets. The latter had knelt and taken a simple black one, worn out as time had gone. He opened it and nodded.  
  
"This is it."  
  
The gangster smirked at the relieved and at the same time, cowering suspect. He wondered what he would tell his leader about his encounter with the Gray Wolf. "Good job. Now get out of here! I don't want to see your face again, understand?!" His leg kicked the ground and reached a point where he could almost kick the suspect. He watched him stumble and run away.  
  
"Yeah! You got your wallet back!" The boy happily jogged towards the man who smiled a small one.  
  
"Hey." The chubby man called, his nose clamped with his fingers and his free hand waving. "If we've got no business here, we might as well get out of here."  
  
The dark-haired man nodded. To the gangster, he said 'Thank you.' before he stood up.  
  
*****  
  
Everyone turned to the chubby man approaching while he yawned and stretched his arms. They were all in the gangster's territory, the one by the port where the moon shone its finest. There was a grocery bag beside the boy who sat by the short bricked wall. Beside him was the dark-haired man, then the gangster who sat by his motorcycle. All of them faced the calm waves.  
  
"Did you get to call your girlfriend?" The boy asked.  
  
The chubby man nodded. "Yeah. She called all my relatives and they all panicked. They even called the police." He groaned. "God, I have to apologize to her..."  
  
"Buy her something!"  
  
"Maybe I ought to..."  
  
The gangster turned to the dark-haired man staring at the moon. "Hey." The reply was a head turn. "What's so important with that cheap wallet, anyway?"  
  
"Yeah!" The chubby man agreed and sat beside the boy, facing the opposite of all of them. "What's in it?"  
  
"It's...my last memory...of a special person." The dark-haired man took his wallet and opened it, revealing a pressed white flower behind a tight plastic where pictures were usually inserted into.  
  
"A Lunar Flower?" The gangster raised an eyebrow.  
  
"It's very popular." The boy smiled at the gangster. "Considering it was a famous singer's favorite flower." A set of sliding foot steps came in.  
  
An old man came with a radio held out. A violin was being heard from it.  
  
"Hey, geezer." The gangster called. "Is it playing?"  
  
The man nodded. "Yes...her last song..."  
  
The dark-haired man's eyes widened, his mouth ajar. "Gravity..."  
  
The piano had come on cue. 'Been a long road to follow, been there and gone tomorrow, without saying goodbye to yesterday...'  
  
"She was so young...and frail..." The geezer shook his head and sighed.  
  
"CHEZA..." The boy mentioned the name. "My grandmother loved her. She was so sweet and happy and her voice sounded like an angel, she said."  
  
"Blue loved CHEZA, too." The chubby man added. "She loved her so much, she had filled her garden with Lunar Flowers. She often asks me to help her tend it. I took her to CHEZA's funeral."  
  
"Cheza..." The dark-haired man started. "...was my...I loved her."  
  
All three of them gasped and turned wide eyes to him.  
  
"You mean you..." Tsume started. "You and CHEZA are...?"  
  
"That Lunar Flower was from CHEZA?" Hige asked. "...wow."  
  
Toboe's lips twitched to the left as the man's eyes closed. "I...I'm sorry...you must have been so happy together..."  
  
"Yes..." Kiba opened his eyes. "We were..."  
  
'I feel the gravity...of it all...'  
  
+owari~+  
  
Disclaimer2 and some notes: The song 'Gravity' is in reality, sang by Maaya Sakamoto. I just thought it was nice to make Cheza the singer in this fic. Also, by CHEZA, I meant that they were talking about her as an artist. By Cheza, I meant that she was talked about as a person. And the Toboe who twitched his lip wasn't the cat. ^^;; Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my first fic. :) I also hope my favorite character isn't so obviously seen here. I wanted to give everyone an equal attention.   
  
Until next time! Ja na! ^0^/ 


End file.
